BEEVILLE — One of two suspects in a Nov. 14, 2011, burglary of a habitation entered an open plea in court this week and received a 40-year prison sentence.

Visiting District Judge Thomas Lee sentenced 21-year-old Rene Cantu to prison after he agreed to plead to an aggravated robbery charge in return for a maximum 45-year sentence.

Cantu could have been sentenced to 99 years to life in prison for entering the home and holding its residents at gunpoint while stealing electronics equipment.

At the time of their arrests, Beeville Police Department Chief Joe Treviño said Cantu and his accomplice, Javier Hernandez, apparently had entered the wrong home in the 1600 block of North Tyler Street on the night of the incident.

The man living the home at the time reportedly was awakened by a noise and when he went to investigate, he was confronted by two men with handguns.

BPD Detective Art Gamez and Texas Ranger James Bennett led the investigation, eventually locating the suspects in Corpus Christi.

Cantu was arrested when local officers traveled to Corpus Christi to team up with Federal Bureau of Investigation deputies of the U.S. Marshal Service and officers of the Corpus Christi Police Department.

Hernandez, who was 22 at the time of the burglary, was later arrested after being stopped for a traffic violation.

Both defendants are believed to be affiliated with a Texas prison gang.